I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to material collection vehicles and those vehicles having divided storage bodies and to a loading system including a packing apparatus for charging refuse or recyclables into distinct predetermined storage body compartments in such a multi-compartment collection vehicle. More particularly, this invention relates to a receiving and packing apparatus having a divided charging hopper wherein dual linear-operating packing panels, each operating within a divided portion of the charging hopper, charge the refuse or recyclables into an associated compartment of the storage body. The charging hopper and storage body are divided so as to increase the relative holding capacity of the upper portion of the charging hopper, without significantly decreasing the holding capacity of the lower storage compartment.
II. Discussion of the Related Art
Refuse collection vehicles of the conventional variety generally include a storage compartment, a charging hopper, a loading mechanism, and a compacting mechanism all mounted on the vehicle. If the loading mechanism is of the front or side loading variety, the loading mechanism operates to engage, lift, and empty a container of interest into the associated charging hopper and the compacting mechanism directs the material from front to rear. When separated waste materials are hauled in designated compartments of the storage body of the collection vehicle, it is desirable to separately compact the material stowed in each compartment to allow a greater volume of material to be hauled.
The charging hopper typically includes a ram or packer panel which operates to pack refuse or recyclable material into the storage compartment. A partitioned charging hopper of a multi-compartment collection vehicle typically has an upper loading hopper separated by a floor and wall, and a separate packing system that is operated independently of that of the lower loading hopper. The wall is normally a transverse member that provides a rigid dividing wall that divides the receiving opening or access to the upper hopper (rear) from that of the lower hopper (front).
A divided side loading bucket may be used to load the segregated, collected materials into the predetermined portions of the charging hopper. When refuse is dumped into the hopper of the vehicle, the rearward portion of refuse contained in the loading bucket may land in the access to the upper hopper and the forward portion is received in the lower hopper. The loading bucket is typically divided or split fore and aft so that a first dedicated portion dumps into the lower hopper and a second dedicated portion dumps into the upper hopper.
A representative example of such a collection vehicle appears in U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,430, issued to Horning et al., which describes a divided vehicle for collecting, hauling, and delivering recyclable materials. The vehicle includes a divided charging hopper having a packer panel associated with the upper portion of the divided charging hopper. A double acting packing cylinder pushes and pulls or reciprocates the packer panel between a forward and aft position. The packing cylinder extends into and through the opening to the lower divided portion requiring material being loaded into the lower portion of the charging hopper to spill over the packing cylinders eventually reducing their useful life.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,246 also issued to Horning et al. discloses a similarly divided upper and lower charging hopper compartment. The upper portion of the charging hopper includes a ram that encloses a longitudinally extending packing cylinder. While this avoids exposing the cylinders to corroding refuse, it significantly reduces the holding capacity of the upper portion of the charging hopper.
While strides have been made, a need clearly persists for a packing apparatus having a divided charging hopper, wherein the packing mechanism of each portion of the charging hopper is not exposed to the refuse or recyclables as they are dumped into a predetermined portion of the charging hopper, yet where the available volume of the upper portion of the charging hopper is not reduced and further wherein the charging hopper is divided to increase the holding capacity of the upper portion of the charging hopper, without significantly decreasing the holding capacity of the lower storage compartment. The present invention meets these needs.